Court rejects Asaduddin's second bail petition

Hyderabad: An Andhra Pradesh court Wednesday dismissed another bail petition of MIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi in a seven-year-old case of rioting and manhandling an officer.

A local court in Sangareddy town of Medak district near Hyderabad dismissed the bail plea of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president, who was Monday sent to judicial custody till 2 February.

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This was the second bail petition in as many days to be dismissed by judicial first class magistrate K Maruthi Devi.

The magistrate had on Tuesday pulled up the MP for not respecting the law. The court took note of the fact that Owaisi never appeared before it since 2009, though a non-bailable warrant was pending against him.

Owaisi had Monday appeared before the court, seeking recall of a non-bailable warrant pending against him in connection with a case booked against him in 2005. The court, however, dismissed his plea and sent him to judicial custody for two weeks. The MP was later shifted to a jail in Sangareddy.

Owaisi and other MIM leaders were booked by the police when they prevented the officials from demolishing a place of worship for road expansion at Mutangi village in Medak district. They allegedly manhandled the then district collector.

The MIM leader's lawyer moved a fresh bail petition Wednesday but this was also dismissed by the court, which observed that bail at this stage would further delay the court proceedings.

Owaisi's lawyer sought bail on the ground that as the chief of a political party and MP, he had many responsibilities.

He also informed the court that the MIM leader is to preside over a public meeting organised by the party Thursday on the occasion of 'Milad-un-Nabi', the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammed. The court was told that some foreign speakers were also invited for the meeting.

Meanwhile, a court in Adilabad district adjourned to Thursday hearing on the bail petition of Akbaruddin Owaisi, younger brother of Asaduddin Owaisi, in a hate speech case. The district court heard the arguments from both sides.

A court in Nirmal town had Wednesday extended till Feb 5 the judicial custody of Akbaruddin, who is lodged in a jail in Adilabad town, about 300 km from here.

Akbaruddin Owaisi, who was arrested Jan 8 for the hate speech he delivered at Nirmal last month, has been charged with sedition, waging war against the nation and promoting enmity between different groups.

In another setback to the MIM legislator, police in Karimnagar registered a case against him for allegedly making a provocative speech in the town on 22 August, 2012. The case was booked on court orders on a petition by a local leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).